Lime Leaf Falernum recipe
What is Falernum? It’s a tropical liqueur originally from the Caribbean that is used in Tiki cocktails. It’s base ingredients are lime peel, cloves, ginger, almonds and sometimes allspice and it’s delicious. I made a variation of this recipe for my 2020 Tiki event to serve at the jungle location (cocktail recipe listed under the Falernum liqueur recipe). It’s one of my favorite mixers to have in my bar arsenal, originally introduced to me by bartender extraordinaire Hailey Pasemko (fr. Alta Bistro and now at Wolf in the Fog, Tofino). Bring some summer into your winter.
FALERNUM RECIPE:
Ingredients
6 oz Overproof White Rum (69ABV)
4 Limes, zested – preferably organic (9 limes for the original recipe but I substituted some kaffir lime leaves instead)
40 lime leaves
40 Cloves, toasted
2 tbsp Blanched Slivered Almonds, toasted (you can use whole almonds and then just pulse in a food processor after you toast them)
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 oz Fresh Ginger
14 oz Rich Simple Syrup – 2:1 ratio, cold preparation
Method
- Zest the limes (no pith)
- Toast the cloves in a dry pan over a medium heat, shaking frequently, just until they begin to become aromatic, then remove from the heat.
- Toast the almonds, shaking frequently, until they begin to turn light brown, then remove from the heat.
- Dice the ginger, tear the lime leaves off the stalk and then pulse them together a few time in the food processor to break them down more.
- Add the lime zest, cloves, lime leaf, almonds, ginger and the rum in a pint-sized jar and allow to macerate for 24 hours.
- Strain the infusion into your final container through a fine sieve (or muslin cheese cloth if you want it to keep longer) Make sure to give it a good squeeze at the end to get every last drop of potent liquid out. Liquid should be green, coooool!
- To make the simple syrup, add 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water to a large jar. Seal the lid and shake until the sugar is completely dissolved. If you’re struggling to get it to liquefy, add it to a pan and put it on a very low heat, stirring every few minutes until the liquid is clear.
- Measure 14 ounces of your syrup and pour into your final container along with the rum infusion and the almond extract, give it a shake to combine, and you’re done!
Lime… Note that we’ve removed the lime juice from the base recipe, you’ll need to compensate by adding it back in when you mix your drink. Squeeze about a 1/4 of a lime in for every ounce of Falernum used. Lime changes the colour of the Falernum to yellow, so add it at the last minute to keep the green look.
A great cocktail to make with it is…
A Nuclear Sunset Punch
- 1 oz Lime Leaf Falernum
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 oz pineapple juice
- 1 slice mandarin for garnish
- Crushed ice